Coin dealer stereotypes

A lawyer friend had this to say about coin dealers:

"I have noted that, in the past at least, whenever I went into coin or stamp stores, the owner operators tended to be corpulent, self-important, gasbags, that unless you are ready to cater to their whims and make a large dollar purchase, tend to view you with the same disdain as gum stuck to their shoe.

"My family used to collect stamps - just as a fun hobby, but the attitude of those running coin and stamp stores sucked a large amount of the joy out of it. Probably also explains why the average age of a stamp or coin collector is somewhere between 50 and dead."

As Doug Winter has said, the world of numismatics and coin collecting has an image problem. I have known quite a few ethical, helpful and humble coin dealers and shop owners. How pervasive is this image problem and is it getting better as dealers have tried to be more helpful and responsive?

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Well I guess I've been lucky in that I seldom encountered dealers like those described.
The description sounds more like the customers at my local bi-monthly coin show.

 

We have three dealers locally.
1) fits the stereotype (older)
2) I have found to be very friendly but others say he fits the stereotype (older)
3) Owner is under 50 and doesn't fit the stereotype at all.

So I would say half in my local experience, that isn't a very good percentage.

 

I think that the way to overcome stereotypes is exposure.

Good dealers have to try to leave more good impressions than the lousy ones can do harm to.

One thing that helps is the internet. I have found that most of the dealers that frequent internet forums are polite, sincere, and helpful. Maybe it's that there's no pressure. No overheads, no need to close the sale, etc. It's mostly just helpful advice or sharing of knowledge.

I think that Matt Dinger of "The Coin Show" (here his screen name is LostDutchman) is helping to spread the word of honest dealers who are not only knowledgeable and polite, but darned entertaining to listen to.

Yes, I know that was shameless self-promotion, so sue me...

 

I agree that Matt is very pleasant to deal with.

I had one dealer when I was a kid that would sometimes be a bit arrogant, but for the most part, my dealings with dealers has been very good. I don't always spend much, but sometimes I do. It just depends on what coins I am looking for. Recently, I have been bringing my modern sets up to date. And I have to admit that my dealers are not giving me the attention that they normally do.

 

I've only been to 4 different coin shops. None of the owners of any of them fit that stereotype.
Two of them I've only been to once. Both owners of either shop were very nice. One of them the guy showed me around the whole place, where certain coins were, and where the better coins were and it was the first time I'd ever been there, unfortunately it's about an hour from where I live, otherwise I'd probably be in there once a week.
The other two I go to about once a month each, and I've only ever spent more than $50 at one time at either shop maybe 4 times, but every time I go in the owners are always really helpful when it comes to finding whatever I'm looking for.
So I've probably just gotten lucky. Maybe that stereotype will gradually go away.

 

I have dealt with plenty of people online that seem very nice, but unfortunately, the face to face encounters I have had all over the country in my life have been exactly as described above. The online deals are not as desireable as a face to face deal, but then that distance might be what keeps that stereotype interaction at bay... ????

 

I did go to a coin show and did encounter one dealer like this. I was wondering how much the coin below was worth and saw he had a sign he buys coins. I showed him my coin and he looked at it and said, "I am not interested". Then he said "I will give you melt" and asked someone else, "what is melt?". I had no interest in selling it just wanted to know what it was worth. On the other hand, I showed it to another dealer and asked his opinion and was more than willing to give it. Some were smug with pristine coins while others were helpful, honest, and gave good deals. It really depends.

 

On some days, dealers act like this stereotype, on others, the same dealers are very nice.
Some dealers act nice all the time, and some act like they just want me to leave.

 

I've had trouble at shows of dealers blowing me off because I am young. Other dealers go out of their way to help me, also because I am young.

 

When I was a kid, my mom took me to our local coin shop -- I bought a few things, and when he found out I was collecting Lincolns, he gave me a bunch of date to fill my holes with -- including some BU 50s! And he was always helpful (prices weren't too bad either). That's the only experience I've had with dealers.

 

I would say that half or more of the coin shops are run in as friendly and agreeable a manner as possible considering all of the pressures of running a brick and mortar shop these days. I think Dr. Paul, whose image you have was also a coin dealer or precious metals dealer at one point, it would be interesting to hear his take on coin collecting.

In an ideal world a coin dealer would spend a lot of time doing chores on his farm and with his family, probably many do.

 

The first coin I ever bought (instead of pulling circulation or trading) was at a local coin shop. I was young, probably 11 or 12, so to some extent I can understand the attitude, which was VERY much like the OP described to a T. But, I was there to buy something and common politeness would have been nice. I brought a few coins that I hoped to include as trade. He looked at them for 5 seconds and dismissed them as "not interested in any of these". Fair enough. When I asked to see a coin he required me to show him some money before he would bring it out. Even at the point of closing the sale, he seemed disgusted with me as a customer. I still walked out with a magnificent flying eagle graded EF 40. I still have it to this day.
Still the experience was so negative that I never set foot in that store again and didn't go in another for many years. Looked at the coins in the window many times, but never felt as though they would want me in the store. Once I had a drivers lic. I started going to coin shows but still didn't go to stores. over the many years, I poked my nose in maybe 3 others and never felt welcome.
One store, finally, that I went to for the first time 2 years ago broke the long standing ice with me. He was a really nice fellow and I have done business half a dozen times since, always with a little trade and a little cash.
I still wonder how much business that guy in my home town DIDN'T get in the last 40+ years because of that first meeting. Maybe not millions, but it could have been a lot. For sure, it meant something to me.

 

When I see some of the people who come into the local coin store (and the questions they ask) I am surprised that the owner is as friendly as he is.

 

I've gone to 2 main dealers for a while now and both are really good, friendly guys.

 

You know I find that most lawyers, and doctors, are the same way when I first meet them.

 

I would rather deal with a coin dealer than the nice people who scream money,money,money on tv.

 

This coming from a lawyer!

 

Well, from an historical perspective we always get a black eye when PM goes up. This always brings out a bunch of "wheeler and dealers", "gold buyers", and their ilk giving coin dealers a bad name. When the whole PM thing dies down, these players will shake out and surviving dealers will again need to cater to collectors, and ill tempered "big deal" brokers will move on to sell cars, winnebagos, etc.

Personally, I find 3 generic types of dealers.

1. "Wheeler dealer", usually not very knowledgable but is a good talker. Frequently seen dealing PM or whatever is hot.
2. Technical professional who loves coins and knows a lot about them. His prices are usually high but he has good coins and you can learn from him.
3. Average Joe dealer who knows some, will admit he is weak in many other areas, tries to do right by buyers and sellers and still eat.

I find I like types 2 and 3, while putting up with type 1's only if I have to. To me, finding a good type 3 dealer and building a long term beneficial relationship with is very beneficial to both of you.

 

You'd rather have them scream money, money, money, to your face I take it.